And the "one weird trick" move.
The former didn't seem applicable in this context.

Robert Cialdini at CNBC, July 12:

Warren Buffett uses this simple psychological trick to be persuasive and so can you, says influence expert

Warren Buffett is perhaps the most famous and most successful investor alive today. Dubbed the "Oracle of Omaha," the 86-year-old CEO of Berkshire Hathaway has a net worth of more than $75 billion.

Most people excitedly await Buffett's annual letter to Berkshire shareholders for the sage advice he gives. But psychology professor Bob Cialdini, who has spent his entire career studying the science of influence and persuasion, is drawn to something more subtle.

"I've been getting his annual shareholder reports for more than 15 years now. And I've noticed something that he does as a CEO of the company Berkshire Hathaway that I've never seen in any other report," says Cialdini of Buffett.

"On the first or second page of the report he describes an error, a mistake, that he and his company made the previous year.

"It is so disarming," Cialdini tells CNBC.

"I say to myself every time, 'Oh! This guy is being straight with us. What is he going to say next? I need to pay attention to everything he says next!'